There is this moment in life of every Xbox-360 user, when you start to wonder what will you do when this happens:

Yes, it’s infamous Red Ring of Death (RRoD), which indicates the end of good old times. From this day on, it’s only sorrow and pain (for complete ignorants: RRoD means you have to send your console to M$, if you dont have warranty, you can bin it).

How to prepare for that terrible moment?

First of all, we need to know the cause of RRoD. It is not 100% officially known, but everything points to the overheating of the console, resulting in problems with cold solder joints (micro-cracks/voids in solder) – which are impossible to self-repair. The risk increases if you use additional hardware (eg Nyko Intercooler 360).

Microsoft is well aware of the situation, and began to release new consoles with new motherboards, which should reduce the likelihood of RRoD.

This is a list of currently available chipsets:

XENON (no HDMI)

ZEPHYR

OPUS (no HDMI)

FALCON

JASPER

VEJLE

The first two are the original versions, OPUS, and FALCON are CPU in 65nm technology (instead of the original 90nm), JASPER has both CPU and GPU made in 65nm (which reduces power consumption and heat generation). The latest version is VEJLE – used in SLIM consoles. The older we have, the more we should be careful not to overheat it – because this will mean trouble in the future.

How to identify your Xbox-360 version? Date of purchase is not the best method – stores sell the old stock first, even if they have latest model on shelves.

First, we should check what power plug we have and if there is an HDMI port:

Then we can check the UPS Output Power – 150W is JASPER, OPUS 175W or 203W FALCON and a XENON and ZEPHYR. Please note this is not 100% effective method.

JASPER can also be recognized by reading the power input on the console – 12.1A means you are lucky
Very good summary can be found here – LOT and TEAM are indicated on the sticker on the box of your toy.